Thread: Why the difference....identical honing, different feel between razors

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Very good advice above. Also add into that bevel angle. Are you taping the spine... How much tape? Is there hone wear? How thick is the spine? There are lots of variables that affect this. Razors are in a way similar to blues music. It seems so simple but in that simplicity lies a hidden complexity. The geometry of a razor has to be so precise for it to perform at the level that we expect. There are good threads on here about bevel angle which you can check and adjust with tape etc, etc. I think DVW or maybe crescentcityrazors posted one someplace (Maybe one of you guys can add a link) but a very oversimplified answer to that is a four to one ratio width to spine thickness.
I would also consider 3k as being more of a mid level stone. For my 2¢ worth If you are going to get a 1K, which would be my suggestion to have regardless of what else you have, I would consider possibly a King or a Sharpton over a Nortonas the Norton that I have has a tendency to make edges a little chippy sometimes. You can work around it by keeping the stone cleaned and dressed properly but why add more variables?

I agree that bevel angle is an important factor. Forgot to mention that, but it kind of comes under the "grind" heading, anyway. I have posted at length regarding tape and bevel angle on another forum and there are articles on my growleymonster dot com site. My already well-known views on this are extremely controversial here on this forum and I don't feel like arguing so I will decline for now, in regard to posting on the subject. Some time in the future, maybe. When it doesn't seem like I am just repeating what I recently posted all over again.

Since moving production to Mexico some time ago, I find Nortons to be very inconsistent not only from one stone to another, but even within one stone. Sometimes aggressive lapping will take the surface down into more consistent composition. Sometimes not. I really do not like them much these days, and I put them in the same quality category as King, Bear Moo, etc except that they cost more. I like the low grit Shaptons and the Naniwa as well, both the SS and the Chosera. The SS seems to dish out more quickly than the Kuromoku or the Chosera but it almost never chips an edge. The red resin type sandpaper, glued to a suitable plate, makes an excellent cheap single use bevel setter. At least you know it is flat. And you get any grit you want. Following sandpaper with a lapped SuperStone gives a pretty nice bevel. I like lapping film for the progression but I can take it or leave it for bevel setting. YMMV on all that and I do not profess to be particularly unbiased.

I routinely hone many new Dovo and TI razors. They are all ground differently, similar but different. Even the steel is different, some harder that other. And if you compare Vintage Dovo and TI’s to modern made razors, night, and day…

Very few are ground perfectly, evenly, and fewer are straight after heat treat. Even though few are perfect, they all can be honed and take an edge, they just take an individual approach.

Any variable, no matter how minute can affect the edge. Remember the actual cutting edge cannot be seen without an SEM scope. So, any variable will/can affect the result.

Again, you must do what the razor needs. In the case of the Wingen, it needs repair to be honed properly.

While bevel angle can make a difference, most commonly with Gold Dollar type razors or vintage razors with hone wear.

But I have never measured a bevel angle, of all the razors I have ever honed.

If it has massive hone wear or will not hold an edge, I add a layer of tape or just a micro bevel with an added layer of tape Electrical, Kapton or even Scotch Tape.

It just is not as big a deal as is made out to be. If it will not hold an edge, add a layer of tape, problem solved.

That's another good search. Euclid440 has a good write up on heel correction somewhere.